BTW, each of the photos are of me sparring in one form or another, specifically BJJ, Kali, and Kickboxing.

Almost every club I've ever been to the people have hated violence, this seemed especially true of an aikido group. I'm not sure if you're really making a new point (and if you're not, I think that's an encouraging sign for both of us).That said if boxing counts as a martial art then I can see why the point may need to be made.

Violence is why I struggle to see boxing as a martial art. Even as a kid I always saw the point as being technically good for the sake of skill, not being able to fight- even though I do like knowing my chances are a bit better if someone were to start on me/someone around me. It's why I think a martial art needs to have some level of philosophical/moral principles behind it that it actively teaches it's students

All the traditional martial arts have in them some kind of spiritual aspect. The training is a path of self development, involving physical, spiritual and mental cultivation - the irony is that the better you get at a martial art, the less likely you are to need to use, and the less you'll want to!